Crypto and AI: The Hidden Digital Black Market of Xianyu
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Crypto and AI: The Hidden Digital Black Market of Xianyu
Crypto and AI, Find Everything on Xianyu.
Chuyên sâu báo cáo Web3Author: Umbrella\Lao Da, TechFlow
Search for "USDT" on Xianyu, and the page is blank. But change the keyword to "sell USD coin," and a hidden digital black market instantly unfolds.
Sellers use various homophones, code words, and images to evade platform regulation. "Those who know, know" is the passphrase here. Some hide contact information in the corners of pictures, while others directly post screenshots of exchange logos to prove they are "insiders."
Crypto assets, highly sensitive and strictly restricted in public discourse, have not truly disappeared. Instead, they have been disguised and folded into a more grassroots platform.
"Buying and selling USDT," "step-by-step guidance on downloading exchange apps," "overseas IDs for passing exchange KYC," "Binance alpha tutorials"... Here, you can almost buy one-stop crypto trading guidance services.
The digital black market extends far beyond crypto-related content: discounted air tickets, hotel bookings, reservations at popular restaurants, concert front-row seats, soldier AI verification...
On social media, there's a saying circulating:
"You can buy almost anything on Xianyu."
This is no exaggeration.
The Hidden Crypto Business
In October 2025, the official X account of the Republic of Palau's digital identity service issued a rare announcement in Chinese.
"Recently, it has been discovered that individuals are publicly displaying forged Palau identity documents on social media and using them to bypass KYC verification processes on various platforms. This behavior constitutes serious identity fraud." RNS.ID officially announced that it would conduct secondary reviews for all Palau ID users with Chinese pinyin names. Users who fail verification will be marked as fraudulent and added to the global fraud database.
Why would this Pacific island nation's government specifically issue a Chinese announcement? The answer lies in Xianyu's search results.
Entering keywords like "overseas identity" or "Palau ID" reveals an underground network trading fake documents. Prices range from tens to hundreds of yuan, promising "100% pass rate for major exchange verifications."
Besides Palau, documents from Dominica, Nigeria, the Philippines, and other countries are also hot commodities. The quality of these fake documents is constantly improving, with sellers offering customization services, using the buyer's real photo to create fake IDs to ensure they pass facial recognition.
Beyond selling fake IDs for KYC, the Xianyu crypto black market is filled with more zero-cost virtual services.
On Xianyu, an account named "Shenzhen Xiaoxia" once sold a 30-minute guidance service for "Binance/OKX download and installation" for 10 yuan. (Note: Currently delisted)
"Xiaoxia" is no nobody. In the crypto world, this is a thunderous name, a top-tier KOL.
Not long ago, news of him buying Shenzhen's top luxury mansion, CITIC Xinyue Bay, with a debt of 60 million RMB was widely circulated in the industry.
Why would a crypto billionaire worth hundreds of millions personally engage in "customer service" business on Xianyu, charging 10 yuan per order?
The 10 yuan tutorial fee is just bait; the real income comes from referral commissions. Every user who registers through his link can bring him a share of transaction fees in the future. An active user might generate hundreds or even thousands of yuan in revenue per month.
This 10 yuan business is an extremely low-cost fishing rod. The other end of the rod connects to a vast, sustainably monetizable traffic pool.
If "Xiaoxia's" business is an open scheme, more sellers are engaged in a purer form of "stealing light through a chiseled wall" on the barrier of information asymmetry.
A product priced at 88 yuan, "Binance Alpha Beginner Tutorial," offers one-on-one online teaching, promising "hand-holding practice, worry-free and effortless." The so-called "Alpha" typically refers to activities launched by platforms like Binance that allow users to earn potential airdrop rewards by completing tasks.
Participation methods for these activities have long been open secrets on platforms like X and YouTube, with countless bloggers sharing detailed guides for free. But for most domestic users, the wall built by language, network environment, and information channels is very real.
One buyer commented, "The seller is very helpful, much more convenient than figuring it out myself."
AI "Arsenal"
If crypto's digital transactions are merely a small "darkroom" opened within Xianyu's folded space, then the trade in AI is a truly massive,全民参与的 "digital arsenal."
When names like ChatGPT and Claude ignited the world, an invisible wall also rose. Complex registration processes, network environment issues, and the barrier of credit card payments kept the vast majority of curious Chinese users outside. They could see the绚烂烟火 of the new world but couldn't find the entrance.
Xianyu unexpectedly became the民间小路 that bypassed the high wall.
The "arms dealers" here offer全套服务 from入门 to精通.
The most basic commodity is "accounts." A ready-made GPT or Claude account sells for anywhere from几十元 to上百元, with follow-up monthly top-up services available.
Which overseas AI applications and large models are hottest in the market? Just look at Xianyu.
In 2025, when Manus, the AI application later acquired by Meta for $2 billion, first emerged, beta access codes were extremely scarce. On Xianyu, the price of beta codes skyrocketed from initial几百元 to thousands, tens of thousands overnight. At its peak, someone even listed an astronomical price of "100,000 yuan," which helped propel Manus' influence into the mainstream.
Today, the hottest AI products on Xianyu are Gemini and ChatGPT.
The $20 monthly subscription fee for the高级版本 is enough to dampen the enthusiasm of many ordinary people.
However, Google offers a one-year free benefit for在校学生, and OpenAI launched a福利活动 for U.S. military veterans and active-duty personnel, allowing them to claim one year of ChatGPT Plus for free. This small policy goodwill was developed by a group of嗅觉敏锐的 sellers on Xianyu into a规模化生意.
Search for "大兵" (soldier) on Xianyu, and a奇特赛博景观 unfolds. Product covers feature various cartoon soldiers or tough-guy images, while product names are filled with默契黑话: "大兵帮过!" (Soldier helped pass!), "大兵一年 plus 成品号" (Soldier one-year plus ready-made account), with prices ranging from a few to几十块.
A Xianyu user mentioned on social media: "Xianyu is currently the largest AI training base in the Chinese-speaking world. Without Xianyu, most Chinese people根本用不上 international first-tier AI models."
This statement is full of contradictions yet incredibly realistic.
Xianyu, a platform originally for trading second-hand goods, has thus阴差阳错地担任起 the role of "启蒙者" and "普及者" for international first-tier AI models in China.
Buying Everything
Whether it's crypto trading or AI services, these are still just the tip of the iceberg of Xianyu's digital black market.
"Humanity has developed less than one percent of Xianyu's potential," someone commented, calling Xianyu the Chinese version of the dark web.
Xianyu's "darkness" doesn't solely refer to illegality; it's more about absurdity. A大量 of捞偏门, "underground industries" rarely seen in daily life have taken root and sprouted on the platform.
Some products are so abstract, even匪夷所思, that they become sources of laughter on social media.
What to do if a worker遭遇恶意欠薪?
Someone went to Xianyu and found low-cost legal aid. Unexpectedly, the merchant直接派出 an eighty-year-old grandmother to挺身出战, employing the tactics of crying, making a scene, and threatening suicide. The wages arrived in three days.
Someone wanted to refund an air ticket and sought help on Xianyu, only to喜提一张 "death certificate."
On Xianyu, what we see is not just需求 and交易, but perhaps the most authentic田野调查 of the Chinese internet.
In this field, the most vigorous "野生智慧" grows.
It doesn't follow the优雅法则 of the商业世界,信奉 only the最高纲领 of "solving problems." When正规渠道 cannot meet需求, or the成本过高,民间创造力 gushes forth in a生猛, even darkly humorous way.
The Xianyu digital black market presents a真实切片 of contemporary Chinese society. Here, there is no光鲜亮丽的品牌包装, but there are the most真实的人性切片:投机,取巧,懒惰,绝望, and the本能 of求生 in the缝隙 of规则.
However, when the path to solving problems滑向更深的灰色地带, the标的物 of the transaction reaches its终点, the person themself.
If hiring an old lady is renting "someone else's performance," then the most dangerous business on Xianyu is renting "your own identity."
"Selling新人,交易所" (Selling newbies, exchange), "Stable回收交易所账号,已过 KYC,长期合作" (Stable回收 exchange accounts, passed KYC, long-term cooperation), "长期收新人扫码注册" (Long-term收购 newbies for扫码注册)... Such advertisements赤裸地将 a person's KYC identity in the digital world打包出售. The sellers'话术 is极具诱惑力, with some包装 this behavior as "包租公 in the digital age," making users误以为 they are merely盘活 "闲置资产,"轻松实现 "躺赚."
However, an account出租出售 by a小白 could become a作案工具 for电信诈骗 or洗钱团伙.
From buying a tutorial to buying an account; from hiring someone to solve your麻烦 to出租 yourself to麻烦 itself. This光怪陆离的交易链 ultimately forms a可怕的闭环.
We start by using money to buy便利 and end up using ourselves to exchange for money.
This光怪陆离的数字土壤 is both the "民间基建" that allows ordinary people to bypass壁垒 and obtain资源, and a黑暗森林潜藏着无数陷阱. It proves in the most extreme way that any压抑的需求 will not disappear. It will only破土而出 in corners规则无法触及, in more原始, more危险 ways.
Here,便利 and代价 are marked with the same price. You think you're just taking a捷径, only to find that the尽头 of the捷径 might also be an悬崖.
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